The Reel Woman: This 18-year-old feminist version of Ramayana was more controversial than Adipurush, led to protests

While everyone remembers the Indo-Japanese anime Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama with fondness, there's another adaptation that made waves.

Every time an adaptation of Ramayana is announced, one can’t help but draw comparisons to the Indo-Japanese anime, Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, or Ramanand Sagar’s TV show, Ramayan. Compared to the reverence these two are treated with, Om Raut’s Adipurush has unfortunately become synonymous with how the story must not be adapted. Even before its release, Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana has already generated conversations around the casting or VFX. But did you know that an American feminist adaptation of the epic was once even more controversial than Adipurush?

Nina Paley's American adaptation of Ramayana ran into controversy from Hindu groups.

Know all about Sita Sings the Blues

The year was 2008. American artist Nina Paley created an animated musical titled Sita Sings the Blues, inspired by her time in India. She marketed it as ‘the greatest break-up story ever told’. A light-hearted and feminist retelling of the Ramayana, the film uses vector graphics, traditional Indian shadow puppets, and flat 2D art inspired by Rajput and Pahari miniature paintings.

It intersperses scenes from the artist’s own life to draw parallels between a Goddess and a contemporary woman, showcasing relationships that lead to heartbreak. All this, set to 1920s jazz vocals by Annette Hanshaw. 'A tale of truth, justice and a woman's cry for equal treatment,' is how she described it. A limited number of DVD copies were printed, and the film was made available for free download on the movie’s website in 2009.

Blows up on the internet, leads to controversy

Nina’s strategy seemed to work because the next thing you know, Sita Sings the Blues had blown up on the internet at a time when virality was rare. With a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 85% on the Popcorn Meter, the film was raved about by critics for its storytelling and mixed-media style. But with it also came brickbacks. The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti launched a petition in 2009 calling for a complete ban on the film for being ‘derogatory’ because of its depiction of Ram. Yet, the film’s popularity kept growing, and not just in India.

Talking to CWB in 2010, Nina remarked about the backlash to her film from Indians and said, “For them, there is only one true story, and that is the TV series from the 80’s. If it is not from the TV show, then it is wrong. As far as they are concerned, that is the true one, and they need not bother with any other translation.” Many liked that, unlike most Ramayana adaptations, the animated film offered a perspective that showed Sita’s suffering and gave her a voice. But it was also the very same aspect that others protested against, as it showed Ram in a less-than-perfect light.

A still from Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues.

In 2011, protests were held by the Hindu outfit at screenings of Sita Sings the Blues at the San Jose Museum of Art. Screenings were cancelled at the Starlight Pavilion in New York and even in Goa’s Art Chamber. Irrespective of Nina’s 2017 cancellation over her views on transgender individuals, her film Sita Sings the Blues continues to invite discourse. Was the filmmaker’s adaptation controversial or just different from what India is used to seeing? Whether Sita deserved to sing her blues or not, time will tell.

Sita Sings the Blues is available to watch on YouTube.

This is The Reel Woman, where Neeshita Nyayapati writes about a film/series, specifically about the treatment of female characters on-screen.